Wire tightener

ABSTRACT

A manually usable fence wire handling tool designed and adapted to enable a user to grip and manipulate a post-suspended wire, to loop the wire, take up slack, then twist the looped portion in a manner to adequately tighten the wire. It comprises an easy-tohandle frame characterized by (1) a first pair of main legs pivotally joined together (2) a second pair of auxiliary legs hingedly linked to the free outer ends of the main legs and (3) paired and confronting wire clamping jaws fixed on coacting hinged ends of said main auxiliary legs.

United States Patent Hutton et al. 7

[ WIRE TIGHTENER [72] Inventors: Duane A. Hutton; Michael Hutton, both of Keating Stage, Baker, Oreg.

[22] Filed: Dec. 31, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 103,140

52 us. Cl "1254/81 [51] Int. Cl. .Q ..B25b 25/00 [58] Field of Search ..'...254/77- -83, 1

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,759,642 5/1930 Hawbaker ..254/8l 51 Dec. 5,1972

Primary Examiner-Robert C. Riordon I Assistant Examiner-Robert C. Watson Attorney-Clarence A. OBrien and Harvey B. Jacobson [57] ABSTRACT A manually usable fence wirehandling tool designed and adapted to enable a user to grip and manipulate a post-suspended wire, to loop the wire; take up slack, then twist the looped portion in a manner to adequately tighten the wire. It comprises an easy-to-handle frame characterized by (l) a first pair of main legs pivotally joined together (2) a second pair of auxiliary legs hingedly linked to the free outer ends of the main legs and (3) paired and confronting wire clamping I jaws fixed on coacting hinged ends of said main auxiliary legs.

6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENIEDnEc 51972 Fig.

Duane A. Hui/on Michael Hut/0n INVENTORS BY m 1 WIRE TIGHTENER This invention relates to hand-held and readily usable fence wire handling implements and tools such as are commonly used to catch hold of, pull and tighten a length of wire in a manner to take up slack or to'tauten the wire whereby to facilitate stapling or otherwise securing the wire to a supporting post.

patents other than these, but not herein specifically cited, may well be assessed for guidance purposes.

An object of the present invention is to advance the art by providing and offering for use an adaptation which, it is submitted, effectually and well serves the purposes for which it has been devised and appropriately and successfully used.

Briefly, the hereindisclosed tool is characterized, broadly stated, by a four-part frame, more particularly, an adaptation which is made up of a first pair of coplanar rigid elongated principal or main legs having suitably constructed inner ends. which are pivotally joined together in a manner that these legs are readily capable of being swung together or spread apart at will. A second pair of legs coact with the main legs to provide the sectional frame. Leg assembling and connecting means functions to hingedly mount the inner ends of the auxiliary legs'on coacting adjacent outer free ends of the main legs. Wire gripping and pulling and tensioning means is provided on and is carried bythe respectively cooperable inner and outer endsof the main and auxiliary legs. I

More specifically the main legs are longitudinally bowed and the auxiliary legs are straight from end to end. Outstanding links on outer marginal edge portions of adjacent ends of respective paired legs are overlapped and serve to provide a pivoting and operating connection. The pivoted linked end portions of the paired legs are provided with rigid flat faced plates which coordinate and provide wire gripping and handling jaws.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. I is a view in perspective of a wire handling and tightening tool or implement constructed in accordance with the invention showing a length of wire in phantom lines, showing the leg-equipped jaws spaced apart in readiness to clampingly grip coacting portions of the wire.

FIG. 2 is a view on a slightly smaller scale and appearing in elevation and showing the fence wire in full lines with portions thereof gripped between the jaws and another portion which is being bent or looped to take up slack.

2 FIG. 3 is a view also in elevation and similar to FIG. 2 and which shows the main and auxiliary legs squeezed together with the outer ends of the auxiliary legs chained and fastened and shows, more particularly, the loop preparatory tov being twisted for wire tightening purposes.

. FIG. 4 is a view of a portion of the fence wire the purpose of which is to show how one can, with the aid of a tool, twist the looped portion of the wire to achieve the wire tightening result desired.

It may be set forth by way of introduction to the description of the details that the tool as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 is primarily and generally used for one piece of wire that is already connected to adjacent posts and although implements and tools of this category are sometimes referred to'as wire stretchers, the tool disclosed is preferably but not necessarily used as a wire tightener. More particularly the wire under consideration is or can be barbed wire or any other fence wire wherein the wire is fastened to spaced apart fence posts (not shown). It may be added that it is within the purview of the invention to .use the over-all tool in a mannerto catch hold of a free end portion of a length of wire which is being-pulled andthe user can employ the tool as a lever by resting a partthereof against one side of a post in such a manner (not illustrated) as is required to pull the wire end and to then hold the wire with the handle portions together so that wire can be stapled to a'post.

The completeframe, made up of four component parts as already suggested, is preferably made of individual pieces of flat faced metal or equivalent stock. This frame, construed as an entity, is denoted by the numeral 6. The first pair of members which are preferably referred to as legs constitute primary or main legs 8 and 10. These legs are longitudinally bowed and are in a common plane with each other and are substantially the same in construction. The inner end portions 12 and 14, as best shown in FIG. 1, are interconnected and pivotally joined by way of an appropriate pivoting fastenerlo. The free outer end portion 18 of each primary leg is provided on an outer peripheral surface with a diagonally disposed fixedly mounted component part which is hereby referred to as a link 20. These links 20 are overlapped and pivotally connected at 22 with similar diagonally disposed or outstanding rigid links 24 which are carried by the inner end portions 26 of the elongated straight auxiliary legs, one of which at the left is denoted at 28 and the other one at the right at 30. These main and auxiliary legs are thus hingedly linked together to permit operational use in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 inelusive. The outer end portions 18 of the main legs are provided with substantially fiat faced rectangular plates 32 which are opposed to and cooperable with correspondingly constructed plates 34} on the end portions 26 of auxiliary legs. These plates 32 and 34 provide wire gripping and handling jaws which function in the manner best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 respectively. The outer free end 36 of the leg 28 has a keeper notch 38 provided therein to accommodate one of the links 40 on a leg connecting chain 42. 'An end portion of the chain, that is an end link, is connected to an apertured outer end portion 44 of the auxiliary leg 30.

The manner in which the main and auxiliary legs 8, 10, 28 and 30 are constructed and coordinated is believed to be evident from the several views and particularly FIG. 1. The manner in which the adjacent end portions 18 and 26 are joined by way of hinging links 20 and 24 is also clear from FIG. 1.

The manner in which the legs 8 and can be spread apart at will is shown in FIG. 1. Likewise the position of the auxiliary legs 28 and 30 wherein the jaws 32 and 34 spread apart is clearly evident from this view. This is the arrangement of the component parts wherein portions of the fence wire A are positioned between the then. open jaws 32 and 34. After the wire has been gripped the legs 28 and 30 can be moved from the spread or open position shown in FIG. 2 to the closetogether or closed position illustrated in FIG. 3. In this position a selected one of the links for chain 42 can be engaged in the keeper notch 38 to hold the legs 28 and 30 in a set position. That portion of the wire which is formed into the slack-take-up loop is denoted at B in FIG. 3. At this time it is within the purview of the concept to tie an extra piece of wire (not shown) around the portions of the loop to maintain the slack. Preferably however, a tool such as a pair of pliers is employed to catch hold of the bight portion of the loop so that it can be twisted and maintained in the desired twisted state as denoted at C in FIG. 4.

It has been previously stated and reiterated that the device is generally used for one piece of wire that is already connected to fence posts and functions as a loopforming slack take-up and wire tightener. Inasmuch as different users follow their own individual ideas as to the manner of handling multiple leg tools it seems unnecessary to dwell at greater length on the precise procedural steps of employing the tool on plain fence wires or barbed wires, as the case may be.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not'desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

' What is claimed as new is as follows: a

l. A manually usable fence wire pulling and tightening tool comprising, in combination:

a. a frame embodying a pair of rigid coplanar elongated main legs having inward ends which are pivotally joined together in a manner that said legs are adapted to be swung together or spread apart at will;

b. a pair of rigid coplanar auxiliary legs complemental to said main legs;

c. leg assembling and connecting means including rigid links carried by the respective inner and outer ends of said main and Auxiliary legs, said links hingedly mounting the inner ends of said auxiliary legs on coacting outer free ends of said main legs; and d. wire gripping, pulling and tensioning means carried by the respectively cooperable inner and outer ends of said main and auxiliary legs, and including a plurality of paired and opposed plates forming wire gripping and clamping jaws. 2. The fence wire pulling and tightening tool defined in. claim 1 and wherein said main legs are longitudinally bowed and said auxiliary legs are straight from end to end.

3. The fence wire pulling and tightening tool defined in claim 2 and wherein said auxiliary legs have outer free ends provided with manually usable chain fastening means.

4. The fence wire pulling and tightening tool defined in claim 1 and wherein said auxiliary legs have outer free ends provided with manually usable chain fastening means.

5. A manually usable fence wire pulling and tightening tool comprising, in combination:

a. a frame embodying a first pair of rigid coplanar elongated longitudinally bowed mainlegs having inward ends, said inward ends being mechanically connected and pivotally joined together in a manner that said legs are adapted to be swung together or spread apart at will;

b. a second pair of straight rigid coplanar auxiliary legs complemental to said main legs, the outer end portions of said main legs being provided with diagonal outstanding rigid links, the adjacent inner ends of the auxiliary legs being provided on outer peripheral edge portions with outstanding diagonally disposed links, the links on the respective means and auxiliary legs being overlapped and pivotally joined together so as to hingedly mount the auxiliary legs on the outer ends of the main legs; and

. wire gripping, pulling and tensioning means carried by the respectively cooperable inner and outer ends of said main and auxiliary legs, and including paired opposed, planar plates, the plates being fixedly mounted on adjacent inner and outer ends of the main and auxiliary legs and being disposed in opposed confronting relationship and being swingable toward and from each other and providing wire gripping and clamping jaws.

6. The fence wire pulling and tightening tool defined in and according to claim 5 and wherein the outer end portion of one auxiliary leg is provided with a keeper notch, the outer end portion of the other auxiliary leg being provided with an attached chain, the links of said chain being adapted to be selectively connected with the keeper notch. 

1. A manually usable fence wire pulling and tightening tool comprising, in combination: a. a frame embodying a pair of rigid coplanar elongated main legs having inward ends which are pivotally joined together in a manner that said legs are adapted to be swung together or spread apart at will; b. a pair of rigid coplanar auxiliary legs complemental to said main legs; c. leg assembling and connecting means including rigid links carried by the respective inner and outer ends of said main and Auxiliary legs, said links hingedly mounting the inner ends of said auxiliary legs on coacting outer free ends of said main legs; and d. wire gripping, pulling and tensioning means carried by the respectively cooperable inner and outer ends of said main and auxiliary legs, and including a plurality of paired and opposed plates forming wire gripping and clamping jaws.
 2. The fence wire pulling and tightening tool defined in claim 9, and wherein said main legs are longitudinally bowed and said auxiliary legs are straight from end to end.
 3. The fence wire pulling and tightening tool defined in claim 2 and wherein said auxiliary legs have outer free ends provided with manually usable chain fastening means.
 4. The fence wire pulling and tightening tool defined in claim 1 and wherein said auxiliary legs have outer free ends provided with manually usable chain fastening means.
 5. A manually usable fence wire pulling and tightening tool comprising, in combination: a. a frame embodying a first pair of rigid coplanar elongated longitudinally bowed main legs having inward ends, said inward ends being mechanically connected and pivotally joined together in a manner that said legs are adapted to be swung together or spread apart at will; b. a second pair of straight rigid coplanar auxiliary legs complemental to said main legs, the outer end portions of said main legs being provided with diagonal outstanding rigid links, the adjacent inner ends of the auxiliary legs being provided on outer peripheral edge portions with outstanding diagonally disposed links, the links on the respective means and auxiliary legs being overlapped and pivotally joined together so as to hingedly mount the auxiliary legs on the outer ends of the main legs; and c. wire gripping, pulling and tensioning means carried by the respectively cooperable inner and outer ends of said main and auxiliary legs, and including paired opposed, planar plates, the plates being fixedly mounted on adjacent inner and outer ends of the main and auxiliary legs and being disposed in opposed confronting relationship and being swingable toward and from each other and providing wire gripping and clamping jaws.
 6. The fence wire pulling and tightening tool defined in and according to claim 5 and wherein the outer end portion of one auxiliary leg is provided with a keeper notch, the outer end portion of the other auxiliary leg being provided with an attached chain, the links of said chain being adapted to be selectively connected with the keeper notch. 